Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its holdings in Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:WMB - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,923,131 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 174,373 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.73% of Williams Companies worth $533,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Williams Companies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 577,123 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $34,489,000 after purchasing an additional 6,816 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Williams Companies by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 402,967 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $24,081,000 after acquiring an additional 87,031 shares in the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Williams Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $327,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,130,000 after buying an additional 10,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Williams Companies by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 183,317 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $9,224,000 after acquiring an additional 7,618 shares in the last quarter. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Williams Companies from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Williams Companies from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Williams Companies from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.69.

Williams Companies Stock Performance

Williams Companies stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $58.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,461,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,038,023. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $59.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.40. Williams Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.41 and a 12-month high of $63.45. The company has a market capitalization of $71.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.29, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.65.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Williams Companies had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 21.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams Companies, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Williams Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Terrance Lane Wilson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.70, for a total transaction of $125,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 315,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,790,941.50. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Williams Companies Company Profile

The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises natural gas pipelines; Transco, Northwest pipeline, MountainWest, and related natural gas storage facilities; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.